KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators captain Saud Shakeel expressed his disappointment at not being able to execute plans in all three departments following their 118-run loss to leaders Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11-29 match on Sunday.
Gladiators skipper South won the toss and batted unbeaten against Zalmi – the 2017 champions reeling from a mammoth total of 255/3 in 20 overs thanks to Babar Azam’s unbeaten century.
Babur top-scored for Zalmi with an unbeaten 100 off 52 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. Kusal Mendis, who was an adequate support for him, scored 83 runs off 44 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes.
Although the Gladiators conceded the third-highest score in the marquee league, their skipper South defended their decision to bowl first after winning the toss, saying his Jolmi teammate Babur would have taken the same call.
However, he admitted that his team failed to execute their plans and could not play to their full potential in all three areas of the game, resulting in a poor defeat.
“I don’t think batting first was really an option; even if Bobber had won the toss, they would have opted to bowl first,” South said in the post-match presentation.
“But regardless of that, you still have to execute your plans and we couldn’t play the best cricket in all three departments, that’s why we took this decision,” he added.
In turn, the Gladiators could only amass 137 runs in 18.1 overs, suffering their fifth defeat in the ongoing PSL 11.
Reflecting on his team’s overall performance in the eight-team tournament, captain South insisted the teams were mostly “off game” but warned that the runners-up of the previous edition could fall behind if they don’t keep up.
However, he highlighted his teammates’ efforts to maintain consistency and acknowledged Zalmi as deserving winners before praising Babar and Mendis for their classy batting.
“Sometimes in matches like this you lose the game, but if you’re not consistent, you fall behind quickly, both as players and as a team,” South said.
“We always try to keep our results consistent, however credit goes to the way Babar and Gusal Mendis batted today; they deserved the win,” he added.
Despite the remarkable win, the Gladiators managed to finish fourth in the PSL 11 standings as their net run rate put them six points apiece ahead of Hyderabad Kingsmen, defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings.
South, meanwhile, noted that the four-team draw in six stages was a “good thing” for the Gladiators as he insisted that it serves as an opportunity for his team to clinch playoff qualification by winning their remaining two matches.
“The good thing is that four teams are on six points, so there’s still a chance, but from here, the margin for error is very low and it’s easy for us,” Choudh noted.
“We have to win the remaining two matches and hope for some other favorable results, and when that situation comes, we tend to play better,” he concluded.